(a) Field
The subject matter disclosed generally relates to the field of motion-enabled chairs.
(b) Related Prior Art
Motion-enabled chairs are becoming more and more popular in theatres. An example of such motion-enabled chairs is described in co-owned U.S. Patent Publication No. 20100090507 entitled Motion-Enabled Movie theatre Seat, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
Generally, motion-enabled chairs include one or more actuators connected to the base of the seat to produce vibrations and movements which are synchronized with and corresponding to the events displayed on the screen. The motion-enabled chairs are usually installed in a building and controlled by a central controller to induce and synchronize the vibrations/movements with the events displayed on the screen. A broad definition of motion-enabled chairs also includes tactile transducers and inertial shakers. This description therefore applies to such devices.
While advantageous and fun to use, when two or more motion-enabled chairs are provided on a certain platform, the vibration of these motion-enabled chairs add up and may damage the foundation of the building especially at the resonance frequency.
In particular, since all the motion-enabled chairs are synchronized with each other, when a certain event occurs on the screen which triggers the production of vibrations in the motion-enabled chairs, e.g. a car driving on an unpaved road, etc., all the motion-enabled chairs would vibrate in the same manner so that the users obtain the same feeling. Depending on the number of motion-enabled chairs and the floor on which the motion-enabled chairs are installed, the resulting vibration may damage the foundation or transfer the vibrations to other floors.
Therefore, there is a need for a system and method for controlling the movements of motion-enabled chairs to reduce the resulting vibration, without affecting the user's enjoyment and/or experience.